Flat-Earthers Tried To Prove The Earth Is Flat - It Did Not Go Well

A new documentary called “Behind The Curve” has recently been released on Netflix, looking into the people of the Flat Earth movement and how they end up believing such an outlandish idea.

The film has received positive reviews, with critics commenting on how it focuses on the human side of the movement, rather than dismissing them. Many viewers have enjoyed a particular clip from the documentary, where a flat-Earther proves that the Earth is not flat live on camera. In the immortal words of Meryl Streep: “These are the moments that make life worth living”.

In the clip, a flat-Earther named Jeran from a group known as Globebusters set up a simple experiment to prove that the Earth is flat. He used two boards, both with a hole at a height of 5.18 meters (17 feet) above water level, a camera, and another person by the name of Henrique holding a torch at the same height and aligned with the holes.

If the Earth was flat, no matter how far Henrique was, the light would come through the holes. But on a spherical Earth, there’s the curvature to consider. Given Henrique’s distance from the holes, he would have to position the light above his head (7 meters/23 feet above the water level) for it to be seen.

When the experiment began, the light didn’t appear on camera. A perplexed Jeran radioed Henrique to confirm the height of the light at 5.18 meters (17 feet) above sea level. On a flat Earth, he should be seeing the light. He then asked Henrique to lift the light above his head. Lo and behold, the light shined through.

And you know what? It is interesting. This experimental set up has been a staple of flat-Earthers since 1836, when Samuel Birley Rowbotham first did it on the Old Bedford River. Time and time again, it has revealed the curvature of the Earth. Still, it is important to continue to repeat classic experiments as repetition is one of the cornerstones of science.